Jason Gideon

Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) was the head of an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit on the television series "Criminal Minds." His job was to work on FBI investigations and create profiles of criminals to help catch them before they strike again.

Gideon had a close father-son relationship with Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), who was a child prodigy and is now a genius young adult. They often played chess, although Gideon was usually the winner. Gideon has a biological son, but their relationship is strained and they do not see each other very often. Dr. Reid acts as something of a substitute to replace his distant son.

Earlier in his career, Gideon had a nervous breakdown after six men he sent into a warehouse rigged with explosives were killed. He took a lot of heat for this event, and the trauma still haunts him psychologically.

Gideon started to doubt himself and his skills when his girlfriend was murdered. In his last case, he lost complete confidence in his profiling skills when he releases a subject of investigation, resulting in two people's' death. He decided to resign after this incident and left his badge and a note in his cabin for Dr. Reid to find. He has cut ties to his former team.

Memorable Quotes:

"I don't care if you carry a gun or not. The deadliest weapon we have is a thorough and accurate profile."

"The footpath killer had a shotgun to the back of my head. I'm here, he's not."